Pho Pasteur is now a chain of Vietnamese Soup Restaurants. It started with a location in China Town, blossomed in Alston Brighton and now has locations in Needham, Cambridge and elsewhere. Today's focus is on the Needham (Western Suburbs) location.
The beef ball Pho, big bowl is delicious. This beef stock can be served with white or yellow noodles. The variants include beef balls, beef flank, and other parts of beef. The restaurant has modified it's menu from the Boston and Allston locations to not include tripe and tendon. I hope at some juncture as suburbanites get braver, that these two standards return to the menu. Check out the appetizers---shrimp on sugar cane, quail, spring rolls (real ones not those fried for USA citizens ones) are available. Oh and the Pho (soup) comes with a heaping side plate of sprouts and mint sprig, not to mention the top of the soup is covered in a kind of basil.
Let's just say you don't want soup, there are plenty of Vermicelli (white rice noodle) plates to choose from. Usually there is a small spread of chopped nuts and a pork version that tastes good.
Let's say you just don't even feel like eating Vietnamese cuisine, well this Needham location has a sushi bar with a variety of sushi to try. I always recommend Uni (when it's fresh). This is raw Sea Urchin.
The setting is nice. It's almost a box car like set up. Booths running in a long thin row the length of the restaurant. Pleasant clean bathrooms and for warm weather, and unique for Massachusetts, is a set of outdoor tables in a little terrace. One can almost pretend they are not in Needham.
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